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They had watched him the entire flight there. Duo could feel their eyes, and he understood the reason for them. He had never really told them anything of his past, merely stating that he was from L2 and had spent some years on the street. Never elaborating, never going into detail. He didn't want to think about it, and therefore he didn't allow the others to.
They respected his wishes, but now that they were going to the colony for the first time since the war, they were curious. Most of them hadn't been to L2 for more than a day or so at the most, and they knew that Duo would be essential for this mission. But even he knew that he was more subdued than usual, and it was causing the others to be more wary around him.
In retrospect, they should have realized that if the colony was completely overtaken, then the shuttle ports would be as well. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to realize this until they were taken into custody. It had happened so quickly that the five weren't able to do anything about it.
Which led to the small cell they were currently being held in, chained to the wall. Duo watched with shadowed violet eyes as one by one the others all woke from their forced unconsciousness only to find that Quatre was missing. "Status?" Heero murmured, looking about the cell.
"Alive," Wufei grunted.
"Fine," Trowa muttered, emerald eyes portraying his concern for his blond lover.
Duo gave a small hum. "Not in a good mood," he finally answered.
The cell door opened at that moment and two hulking guards came in, dragging Quatre between them. The blond was bloodied and bruised but seemed okay enough if the angry glare was anything to go by. The guards threw him roughly against the wall, and he gave a small grunt at the impact, not bothering to struggle as he was chained up.
"All awake then?" one of the guards grinned. "Lookit that, we've just caught ourselves the Gundam Pilots!" He stepped closer, eyeing Duo. "And aren't you familiar. The pretty little street rat." He reached out to touch Duo's cheek.
Duo snarled, twisting away from the hand. "Don't touch me."
The other guard took a step forward. "Street kids are off limits, man. The Demon made that clear."
The first guard scoffed. "The Demon ain't been around in years. He's not about to come back now."
"The Demon?" Trowa murmured, trying to keep the attention off his two lovers.
"What? You've never heard of the Demon? Everyone on L2 knows of the Demon," the second guard exclaimed, looking shocked at their lack of knowledge.
At the pilots' blank looks, the first guard rolled his eyes, ignoring the fact that they could get in trouble for conversing with the enemy. "During the first war, a church was destroyed because twelve rebels were seeking refuge there. Two hundred people died, all of them innocent except for those twelve rebels. There were no survivors. But after the Maxwell Church Massacre Oz troops began dying. Their throats slit as they slept, entire compounds exploding into flame, being knifed in empty alleys. And wherever they died a symbol was left, painted in blood. A cross backed by a scythe. Everyone called it Maxwell's Demon." The guard scowled, annoyed with himself for talking for so long. He grabbed his partner by the arm and dragged him out of the cell, the door slamming shut behind them.
"04?" Wufei asked softly, giving a small sigh.
Quatre shifted, the chains rattling. "I'm sore, but I'll live."
"What did they want?" Duo asked softly, his voice much more subdued than normal.
Quatre glanced his way, absently wondering about the story they had been told. Maxwell, though, was a common name, and there had been no survivors of the Massacre. Which was awful in and of itself. "They wanted details on Wing Zero," he finally answered.
Heero swore softly. "They want to build a Gundam?"
"They believe that ours are gone, and that the Earth is therefore defenseless," Quatre replied. "Meaning that they have Mobile Suits, possibly Dolls, somewhere, along with a substantial amount of gundanium alloy."
"This is bigger than we thought," Trowa murmured. "They'll have amassed an army."
"And so have I," Duo muttered, more to himself than the others but the words caught their attention anyway. At their questioning looks he merely gave his trademark grin. He looked up at where his chains met the wall, noticing that the bracket was rather loose. He wiggled a little, grinning some more as the bracket loosened considerably.
There was silence in the small cell then, as the others all wondered how they were going to get out of this mess. And then, nearly two hours later, the doors opened again and the same guards entered, one looking almost nervous, the other vindictive. "Boss said we can have a little fun," the one said with a cruel smile as he neared Duo. "So long as your buddies watch."
Eyes widened among the group, but Duo's face just went completely blank. The guard gave a fierce grin, tracing a finger down the pilot's cheek and ignoring the angry glares of the other four agents. Trowa and Quatre both looked about ready to skin him alive. A glint of gold around the braided agent's neck caught the guard's eye and he tugged the necklace out from under the shirt. "A solid gold cross?" He asked. "Must be worth something."
A sharp tug had the cross snapped from Duo's neck, leaving a bloody welt from where the chain had burned his flesh at the friction. The guard looked down at the cross in his hand, grinning at the thought of the money it could bring until he noticed the words engraved on the back. "Maxwell Church," he muttered, his surprise matching that of the others in the cell.
Duo moved, grinning inanely as he slammed his knee into the guard's gut, pulling his arms down roughly. The chains freed from the wall and he grabbed the man, slamming his head into the ground hard enough to crack the man's skull. He snagged his cross and looked up, smiling at the other guard as he got to his feet and sauntered over to Trowa. Slipping the cross into his lover's back pocket he purred, "Hold onto that for me," before turning to the other guard.
He tilted his head to one side, noticing the completely frightened look. "Guess what," he said happily. "I'm back."
"Demon," the man whispered, and Duo was quick to catch him as he tried to run. The chains wrapped around the man's throat and a sharp tug was all that was needed to kill him.
Duo turned and quickly unlocked Wufei's manacles with his lock picks before shoving the thin pieces of metal into the Chinese agent's hands to free the others. He then stared at the blood pooling about his first victim's body, his head tilting to one side.
Trowa frowned as Duo stepped forward and dipped his head in the crimson liquid, watching as it dripped from his fingertips. "Duo?"
Violet eyes looked up, flickering with some unknown emotion. "They want Maxwell's Demon, they'll get all of Maxwell's Demon." He turned to the wall and four quick strokes had a bloody cross and scythe painted across stone.
"Now come on," the proclaimed God of Death said to his freed comrades. "Let's get out of here."
Woot! Death, destruction and mayhem! Well…death at least. The other two come later. Duo's got secrets though. And they will come out eventually. Let's see if the others can keep up…
HK